7 Things We All Wish We Could Tell the Boss

8/8/2019 7 Things We All Wish We Could Tell the Boss

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7 Things We All Wish We Could Tell the Boss

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By Dave Logan

http://www.bnet.com

Ive visited dozens of companies in 2010 and keep hearingthe same message: the person at the top is clueless andunwilling to change. As a result, employees spend absurd

amounts of time managing around him (its usually a

him). Its not just the Emperor Has No Clothes. Its thatthe Emperor Has No Clothes and Looks Funny Naked. Butif you had the courage to have these conversations with the man in charge, you could transform the

lackluster leader into a great one,

1. You're nothing like Lincoln, Churchill or Clinton.

Nothing is funnier, or more tragic, than a mediocre leader who thinks

hes Lincoln, orChurchill orClinton. And nothing is a greaterwaste of time than when an idiot boss (thanks, Scott Adams) tries

to fine-tune his style by reading about the Greats.

A much better use of time would be for someone with credibility to sit

down with the CEO and say, Youre like none of those people, but ifyou work really hard, you could become a great leader in your own

right.

The great leaders are all originals. Although many were amateur historians (or in Churchills case,professional), they didnt become the people they were by copying behaviors from people in the past.

They became great by finding a way to serve people in their time, and in the process, became leaders.

2. Guess what? YOU are the problem.

Imagine this conversation.

Him: Why isn't the company more innovative?

You : Because you, the CEO, drown us in initiatives, metrics, and

plans, and so we dont have any time.

Him: Why isn't the organization more successful?

You: Because the strategy you want us to pursue is inept, compared to what we could do if you got out of

the way.

Him: Why isn't the company a great place to work?

You: Because youre creating an atmosphere of fear and intimidation.


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The single question Im asked more than any other is: Can we use the principles ofTribal Leadershipwhen the top person doesnt get it but thinks he does? The short-term answer is to create a pocket of

tribal greatness, and let the results show that a new way of leading makes everyone win. The long-term

answer is that the person at the top needs to get it, or get out.

3. You put a new thing on my 'to do' list. What are you taking off?

I often repeat a story from the darkest days of the U.S. automotiveindustry, when a major subcontractor to the Big Three held itsmanagers accountable for well over 100 metrics. That story used to

make people laugh. Over the last few years, the reaction has turned

into, so what do we do about that?

Drucker was a fan of the idea ofpurposeful abandonmentdetermining which activities will be stopped. My friendDavid Allen,

author ofGetting Things Done, likes to say that a persons success can

be measured by looking at how long their stop doing list is. The same holds for companies. Mostpeople, and most companies, dont have a stop doing list at all.

CEOs should know that their followers measure them, in large part, by how many metrics and

initiatives they purposefully abandon. In most cases, thats zero.

4. If the employees don't understand the strategy, it's your fault.

Often in executive seminars Ill go through the must have listfor corporate competence, and then ask people which item on

the list they are most concerned about. (One of the better lists isJay Galbraiths STAR model.) Almost always, number one is

strategy, as in do we have one? and ask 100 people andyoull get 100 answers of what our strategy is. I also hear,

the CEO thinks our strategy is the tag line from our ads.

A strategy, by the way, is the creation of a unique and

valuable proposition to the market, according to Michael

Porter. If employees cant say what that the unique value proposition is, the CEO has failed.

In most cases, the CEO would retort, we have a strategy, they just arent listening to what it is.

Whats the problem here?

Its not about how the strategy is communicated, its about the listening that creates the strategy in first

place. Anne Mulcahy tells the story of what happened when she assumed the role of president and COOofXerox. It came down to listening to everyone: employees, customers, and suppliers. She didnt check

her brain at the door and merely combine what they said into the strategy. She checked it againsteverything she knew about the markets, and she also listened to advice from experts. The result from thatlong process was a strategy that was clear, concise, and that made people around Xerox say, yes, thats

right! If your company doesnt have that kind of a strategy, the blame rests at the top.


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5. You don't build loyalty by blaming employees.

Many CEOs try to send the message you and I have a specialrelationship by bad-mouthing other executives. The result? The

message people hear is Ill throw anyone under the bus. The minuteyoure out of favor, Ill do the same to you.

Great leaders throw themselves under the bus by taking

responsibility for any failure in the company. When the company

succeeds, its due to others.

6. Your staff will regard your tenure as the bad old days.

Most large companies remember a time when they had boundless

energy and felt the potential of greatness knocking at the door. That

was before the bullies, brats, and bureaucrats took over.

Most CEOs talk a lot about problems that theyve solved. But thereality is that the overall vibrancy and vitality of the company is

collapsing. People hunger for a leader who will really do things the

right way. And until you learn that, youre just another person steeringthe ship into the sand.

I should add that most CEOs are good people, wanting the best for their companies. So why does the

Emperor Have No Clothes and Look Funny Naked? Its due to a variety of factors, including thatorganizations, by their design, limit or stop upward feedback. Most CEOs become increasingly isolated

and cut off from the real issues and so their decisions become increasingly out of touch. Another reasonis CEO shufflehiring from outside the company, based on competency and not shared values, so that

the new person comes in with an agenda to change everything. Most successful CEOs in our study were

home-grown and promoted from within.

7. Great leaders listen and you dont.

Any questions?

Ever wanted to have this conversation and didnt? I hope youll let me

know, by email or in the comments below.

Follow me on

Twitter(http://www.facebook.com/davetribal)

and

Facebook(http://www.facebook.com/davetribal).

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7 Things We All Wish We Could Tell the Boss